Nitrous Oxide News and Research

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The other opioid crisis: Hospital shortages lead to patient pain, medical errors

Even as opioids flood American communities and fuel widespread addiction, hospitals are facing a dangerous shortage of the powerful painkillers needed by patients in acute pain, according to doctors, pharmacists and a coalition of health groups.

16 Mar 2018

FeNO test may be helpful tool that aids in asthma diagnosis

Although about 24 million Americans are diagnosed with asthma every year, there is no single test that can diagnose the disease. Common symptoms, such as shortness of breath, wheezing, and cough, are relatively nonspecific, and physicians may use multiple tests and observations to reach an accurate diagnosis.

21 Dec 2017

Loss of dietary protein from food as carbon dioxide emissions fail to fall - warn researchers

According to researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, if the present rates of carbon dioxide emissions do not stop, people in around 18 countries worldwide may face a loss of around 5% of the protein they obtain from their diet by 2015. This is due to the reduction in the nutrient values of crops such as rice, wheat and other staples. This would put an additional 150 million people at risk of dietary protein deficiency. This is the first study that actually quantifies the actual dietary health risk posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

2 Aug 2017

Five things that men should know about ED drugs and anesthesia

Millions of prescriptions for erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Viagra and Cialis are written every year, and during Men's Health Month the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists wants to remind consumers of these products to be forthright with their anesthesia professionals when preparing for surgery or other procedures that require anesthesia.

20 Jun 2017

Focused, mindful children could be good candidates for treatment with laughing gas

Before treatment, a dentist should have a sense of whether a patient is willing and able to cooperate during the procedure. This can be difficult to determine when the patient is a child. If a dentist could predict how a child is likely to respond to the usage of laughing gas, also known as nitrous oxide, the visit is more likely to be free of anxiety and fear.

17 Feb 2017

Researchers provide insights into effects of microgravity on bone tissue

As is well-known, space flights bring with them a unique set of health hazards. That includes bone and muscle deterioration. Loss of bone density is currently one of the most serious problems for astronauts.

28 Jan 2017

Women more likely to convert from laughing gas to epidural for pain relief during labor

The majority of women who chose nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to manage labor pain, ultimately decide to have an epidural, according to new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting.

25 Oct 2016

Botulinum toxin A injections combat neuropathic pain

Botulinum toxin A injections have a sustained beneficial effect in patients with neuropathic pain, shows a randomised trial.

3 Mar 2016

Nitrous oxide shows promise in patients at risk for cardiovascular disease

Nitrous oxide, an effective and inexpensive anesthetic, is safe for surgical patients who have or are at risk for cardiovascular disease, according to results of a large randomized controlled trial being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting.

26 Oct 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.

2 Sep 2015

Innovation in anaesthesia: an interview with Matti Lehtonen, GE Healthcare

The spectrum of patients seen today, from pre-term infants to the morbidly obese to the longer living elderly, is wider than ever before and increasingly more challenging with patients often presenting with multiple co-morbidities. This puts a huge strain on healthcare providers who are facing increasing challenges such as cost pressure and staff shortages.

14 Jul 2015

New portable system can produce life-saving NO from air by means of electrical spark

Treatment with inhaled nitric oxide (NO) has proven to be life saving in newborns, children and adults with several dangerous conditions, but the availability of the treatment has been limited by the size, weight and complexity of equipment needed to administer the gas and the therapy's high price.

7 Jul 2015

MIT researchers reveal key brainwave changes among patients receiving nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas," has been used in anesthesiology practice since the 1800s, but the way it works to create altered states is not well understood. In a study published this week in Clinical Neurophysiology, MIT researchers reveal some key brainwave changes among patients receiving the drug.

7 Jul 2015

Young children who receive surgical anesthesia have diminished brain function

Children who received general anesthesia for surgery before age 4 had diminished language comprehension, lower IQ and decreased gray matter density in posterior regions of their brain, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

8 Jun 2015

New article finds no compelling evidence for withdrawing nitrous oxide from operating theaters

A debate at this year's Euroanaesthesia meeting in Berlin will focus on whether laughing gas (nitrous oxide) should be banned from the operating room.

1 Jun 2015

Scientists figure out how to turn Bucky-balls into Buckybombs

In 1996, a trio of scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery of Buckminsterfullerene - soccer-ball-shaped spheres of 60 joined carbon atoms that exhibit special physical properties.

20 Mar 2015

New compound may lead to development of potential therapeutics for neuropathic pain

A new compound discovered by a team of UC Davis investigators has potent actions against production of a chemical that which is implicated in the development of chronic pain following a peripheral nerve injury in the spinal cord.

7 Feb 2015

Laughing gas could be used as treatment for severe depression

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.

10 Dec 2014

U-M student researchers complete Detroit's first comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gas emissions

Energy use in buildings accounts for nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated in Detroit, while exhaust from cars, trucks and buses is responsible for about 30 percent of the total, according to a new citywide inventory compiled by University of Michigan student researchers.

11 Nov 2014

Dentist educates patients about sedation dentistry

The American Dental Association estimates that as much as 10 percent of the American population have dental phobia. Dental phobia is a severe anxiety or dread of making a trip to the dentist.

7 Aug 2014